Oil rig support



3,1 3 A. T. CRAWFORD I 2,057,553

OIL RIG SUPPORT Filed Sept. 21, 1955 INVENTOR. 15

Andrew T Cm wfard ATTORNEY.

Patented Got. 13, 1936 UNETE ll STATES PATENT OFFIQE 5 Claims.

My invention relates to an improvement in supports for derricks and refers more particularly to the type of derricks employed in the oil industry.

The object of my invention is to provide a support, one of which may be placed under each leg of the derrick, and is built as a single unit so that it may be readily placed in position and the building of the derrick on the supports may be begun immediately after setting the supports.

A still further object is to provide a support of the kind mentioned, which also has facilities for carrying the sills and side sills of the rig.

A still further object is to provide a support of the kind mentioned which will have one-hundred per cent salvage in case the rig should be moved.

Another object is to provide a support of the kind mentioned, the use of which will materially speed up the construction of the rig.

These and other objects will be more fully explained as this description progresses.

Now referring to the drawing; Fig. 1 is a side View of a derrick in which my derrick supports are employed.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the derrick as seen from the line II--II in Fig. 1, the flooring of the rig being removed for convenience of illustration.

Fig. 3 is a detail side view of the derrick support.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. 3.

In the drawings, similar numerals of reference refer to the same parts throughout the several figures.

The derrick support comprises a base plate I0, at the center of which is welded a vertically positioned tubular element II, and a second tubular element I2 which is positioned concentric with and is housing the tubular element II. The tubular element I2 is also welded to the base plate I0.

At I3 is a bearing plate which is positioned over the upper ends of the two tubular elements I I and I2 and the upper ends of the tubular elements II and I2 are welded to the bearing plate In the upper end of the tubular element I2 is an opening I4, which provides a means of entrance to the interior of the tubular element I2 so as to permit the process of welding the tubular element II to the plate I3. This opening I4 also provides a way of getting into the interior of the tubular element I2 for the purpose of attaching the derrick leg shoe I5 to the derrick support, as will later be explained.

At I6, I'I, I8 and I3 are angle iron brace e1e ments positioned between corresponding corners of the base plate I and the bearing plate I3 and these angle irons are rigidly welded at their ends to the plates I0 and I3. At 20, 2I, 22 and 23 are auxiliary angle iron brace elements, one end of each being positioned adjacent the base of the tubular element I2 and being rigidly welded at its point of contact. The angle irons 20, 2|, 22 and 23 radiate from their base to a point approximately midway of their respective brace elements I6, I1, l8 and I9 where they are rigidly welded to the brace elements I5, I1, I8 and IS.

The bearing plate I3 is provided with a plu rality of holes 24 to receive bolts which may be passed through the derrick leg shoe I5 and the plate I3 as a means of binding the element I5 to the bearing plate I3.

At 25 and 26 are a pair of vertically positioned tubular elements which are rigidly welded to the base plate I0 and support the outer ends of a pair of sill support plates 21 and 28, the outer ends of said plates being rigidly welded to their respective supports 25 and 26 and the inner ends of the plates 21 and 28 are rigidly welded to the tubular element I2. 25

It will be understood that the plates 21 and 28 are positioned at right angles to each other and the plate 28 is positioned at a higher elevation than the plate 21, the object of which will be later explained. The plates 2'! and 28 are provided with holes 29 and 30 to receive bolts which may be passed through the sills or side sills of the rig framing and the bearing plates 2'! or 28 as a means of binding the sills and side sills to the derrick corner support.

At 2511: and 265v are openings in the upper ends of the tubular support elements 25 and 26 which provide an entrance to the interior of the elements 25 and 26 so that a nut may be placed on the bolt passing through the hole 29 or 30 and entering the interior of the tubular elements 25 or 26 as will be readily understood.

The plate 2! is positioned the proper distance below the plate 28 so that the side sill 3| may be placed thereon and supported thereby and the upper face of the side sill 3| will be flush with the upper face of the supporting plate 28, which carries the sills 32, so that intermediate sills 33 may rest on the side sills 3i and the upper faces of the sills 32 and 33 will lie in the same plane so that a flooring 34 may be placed thereover and supported by all of the sills 32 and 33, as will be readily understood.

Such modifications may be employed as lie within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intention of the invention. Now having thus described my new invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an oil rig support, a base plate and a derrick support plate, said derrick support plate being supported above the base plate, sill and side sill supports, said sill and side sill supports being positioned apart the distance of the thickness of the side sill, and means for attaching a derrick leg element to said derrick support plate and means for attaching the sills and side sills to said sill and side sill supports.

2. In an oil rig support, a base plate and a pair of tubular elements one end of said tubular elements being attached to said base plate, one of said tubular elements being positioned within the other, a derrick support plate, said derrick support plate being rigidly attached to the other end of said tubular elements, brace elements, one for, and spanning between each of the corresponding corners of said base plate and said derrick support plate, a side sill support plate, said side sill support plate being positioned intermediate the base plate and the derrick support plate, one end of said side sill support plate being attached to the outer tubular element that is positioned between the base plate and the derrick support plate, the outer end of said sill support plate being supported on a support element that is attached to the said base plate, a sill support element, said sill support element being positioned at right angles to said side sill support plate, and intermediate the side sill support plate and the derrick support plate, one end of said sill support element, being attached to and supported by the outer tubular element that is positioned between the base plate and the derrick support plate, the outer end of said sill support being supported on a support element that is attached to the said base plate.

3. In an oil rig support as in claim 2, means in said derrick support plate for rigidly attaching a derrick leg shoe to said plate and means in said side sill and sill supports for rigidly attaching side sill and sills to their respective support plates.

4. An oil rig support as in claim 2, openings in the support elements for said derrick leg support plate, and said side sill and sill support plates, for the purposes set forth.

5. In combination with a derrick, a support for each leg of said derrick, each support comprising a base plate and a derrick support plate, said derrick support plate being supported above the base plate, sill and side sill supports, said sill and side sill supports being positioned apart the distance of the thickness of the sill associated therewith; and means for attaching a derrick leg element to each of said derrick support plates, and means for attaching the sills and side sills to said sill and side sill supports.

ANDREW 'r. CRAWFORD. 

